This invention relates to a system for controlling the flow of liquid between a reservoir, such as a livewell on a fishing boat, and a liquid source such as lake or river water.
In fishing vessels, such as a popular bass boat, livewells are provided wherein a manual valve is used to permit lake or river water to flow into the livewell until the tank level is equalized with the lake level. Normally the livewell is filled while the boat is stationary in the water. If an operator fails to close the manual valve when the boat moves off with any spped, the livewell becomes drained. This can be a serious problem if the livewell contains fish. It is desirable to be able to empty the livewell either by running the boat with the valve open or by pulling the boat out of the water and draining the livewell by gravity. It is necessary, however, that water can be retained in the livewell with the boat either moving or out of water.
Heretofore, the only available control means has been a manual valve as described above. Often an operator fails to close the manual valve. For instance, under the pressures of competition in fishing tournaments operators frequently fail to place the manual valve in the proper position, resulting in death of fish retained in the livewell. In many fishing tournaments this results in a serious penalty for the contestant. It would be desirable to provide a simple flow control system and valve arrangement which can safely, conveniently and inexpensively control livewell water filling and emptying cycles and preclude the accidental emptying of a livewell when a boat is moving or pulled out of the water. This invention is directed to providing such a system and thereby avoiding the problems described above.